


If It's Not Too Late for Coffee

by camdin



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Romance, Slow Burn, So bad at tags, cheryl doesnt want to admit shes a lesbian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22796584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camdin/pseuds/camdin
Summary: Toni Topaz works in Riverdale's only coffee shop. Cheryl Blossom enters said coffee shop. They proceed to get to know each other and potentially catch feelings.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom & Toni Topaz, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 19
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As with most things I write, I don't know where this idea came from, but I hope you like it.

Cheryl had always been a morning person. She often naturally woke up before the sun rose each morning and had no problem getting out of bed and going about her day, even on weekends or during summer break. Today was no different. It was around 6:30 am when she stepped outside in full athletic attire- a tank top, shorts, hair pulled up into a ponytail, and running shoes. Morning jogs always helped her clear her head and mentally prepare for whatever she had planned for the day. Not to mention the summer sun was much more bearable in the morning than the afternoon.

The quaint, quiet town of Riverdale was especially peaceful this morning as the sun rose over the horizon. It reminded Cheryl that despite her frequent complaints about how boring the town was, it really wasn't so bad. She was pretty lucky to live in a huge house on a hill, on the north side of a town like Riverdale. She lived a life of luxury compared to most people in the town, especially those on the south side. Things could definitely be much worse.

After her jog and a refreshing shower she was ready to start her day. A day in the life of Cheryl Blossom during summer break was not as exciting as it may have seemed to others. Growing up in a wealthy family, she had almost everything she could ever want, but this summer had become somewhat boring for her. There wasn't much to do in Riverdale, and working part time for the family maple syrup business often kept her busy through the week.

Her days consisted of sitting in one of the spare bedrooms of the Thornhill mansion that her father, Clifford Blossom, had turned into an office space. She recorded sales for the business, organized receipts, created budgets, all sorts of boring office work that her mother and father didn't want to bother with. Although it was often boring, it did allow her to start saving up for college- something she wanted to do without her parents financial help if possible. Since it was the summer before her senior year of high school, she figured now would be the time to start saving.

She sat down at her desk and opened her laptop with a yawn, already bored with the work she was about to do. Preparing the monthly reports for the family business would be a difficult task without some sort of boost of encouragement. Her jog was great, but she could already feel the affects of her runners high wearing off. Now she just needed some caffeine. Although it would prolong the start of her work day, she decided a quick trip to the coffee shop in town would be worth it.

Between working, hanging out at home, and the occasional outing to Pop's Diner with her friends, her summer had been pretty uneventful so far. She knew she shouldn't complain, but she was almost looking forward to going back to school in the fall. Luckily for Cheryl, summer was just getting started and unbeknownst to her, it was about to get a lot more interesting.

* * *

Toni Topaz was not a morning person. She rolled over in her twin sized bed and hit the snooze button on her phone's alarm for the third time already this morning. As much as she wanted to stay in bed, she knew she had to get up. Her need for money was much greater than her desire for sleep. With a groan, she rolled out of bed and got dressed in her usual work attire- jeans, a t-shirt, and the annoying black apron that all employees were forced to wear. She brushed her teeth, made sure her hair looked somewhat decent and then put her black baseball cap on. With another quick check of the mirror, she quickly slipped on her shoes and headed out the door. 

She started her job at the coffee shop only a few weeks ago. Despite her hatred of mornings, so far it was going pretty well. After a lot of training and practice, she was finally understanding the difference between a latte and a cappuccino, and how to make the perfect macchiato among other fancy, overpriced drinks. Her friend and coworker, Sweet Pea, gave her a heads up about all the regular picky customers and how to make their overly complicated drinks to their liking. Having Sweet Pea around was definitely one of the perks of working there. Although it was stressful sometimes, Toni didn't mind it for the most part. Since the coffee shop was on Main Street, on the north side of Riverdale, she got to meet a lot of new people. Pretty much everyone she knew lived on the south side and it was rare to see them elsewhere. 

The north side was much different from where she lived on the south side. The houses there were bigger and more fancy, and the shops weren't run down and sketchy like they often were on the south side. Growing up there was part of her identity. All of her friends were there and all of her memories of her childhood took place there. It was her home, but there were many aspects of it that she didn't like. Living with her alcoholic uncle was what she hated most. He would leave for several days at a time, leaving Toni with no indication of where he was or even if he was alive. When he was home, he was often wasted and unfortunately for Toni, he was an angry drunk. He would scream at her for anything and everything and sometimes even become physically violent. All she could do was leave or wait for him to pass out for the night. She was grateful for any opportunity to get out of his shitty trailer, where she had lived since she was a kid. She physically had a home in that trailer, but she never truly felt at home there.

Ever since she was old enough to make money, whether legally or illegally, she had tried to save up as much as possible. Working kept her away from her uncle for at least 40 hours a week during the summer, but it also gave her a head start on moving out of there as soon as possible. It was hard work, especially for a teenager, but she didn't have much choice. It would be difficult trying to live on her own, but she was determined to make it happen after high school.

She drove to work with the windows down, music blasting through the speakers, feeling the cool morning air hit her face, hoping that it would wake her up a little. She arrived to the coffee shop 10 minutes early, just in time to make her own coffee before her shift started.

"Morning, sunshine!" Sweet Pea called out from behind the counter as she walked through the door. Just like an annoying older brother, he was always looking for new ways to get on her nerves, especially during the early morning shifts. She simply rolled her eyes at his peppy, sarcastic greeting, giving him a much less enthusiastic "'good morning" before pouring her own cup of coffee. She didn't know it yet, but this morning would actually be much better than she anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is from the song “coffee” by Copeland.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always get so nervous when I post anything.. I hope you like it. I've had the first couple chapters written for a while so I figured I'd go ahead and post this one too. This chapter has a little more plot than the first.

Riverdale Coffee House, often just referred to as "the coffee shop" by the locals of Riverdale, was located right on the corner of Main Street in the middle of the north side of town. It was cozy and quiet most of the time, with soft indie music playing over the speakers. There were a few tables and a couple of sofas in the corner next to a large bookshelf filled with board games and random books. Large glass windows lined the front of the shop making it a prime location for people watching while enjoying a cup of coffee. Toni always liked coming here to hang out with friends or just get away from home for a while, but working here was a much different experience than just coming here to hang out.

She had only been at work for about an hour but she already wanted to go home. Work was always boring and tiring, but fortunately it was a weekday and the shop wasn't as busy as it typically was on the weekends. Only a few people had come in for their morning coffee and even fewer had actually sat down at one of the little tables to drink their coffee inside the shop. She wiped down the espresso maker behind the counter, hoping they wouldn't get too busy and that the rest of her shift would go by quickly.

"Woah." Sweet Pea said suddenly as he stood behind the cash register, his eyes fixated on the the door. 

"What?" Toni asked as she turned around and followed his gaze.

She caught sight of the person walking through the door, and immediately understood Sweet Pea's reaction.

The redhead walking in the door was most definitely one of the most beautiful girls Toni had ever seen. She ran her fingers through her long waves of hair after stepping out of hot summer air and time seemed to slow down as she made her first steps toward the counter. Toni knew she had to talk to this girl, no question about it. While Sweet Pea was assigned to register duty that morning there was no way in hell she was letting him take her order. She nudged him out of the way and quickly mumbled "I'll take this one" as the girl approached the counter. Sweet Pea muttered something under his breath (luckily for him, Toni didn't hear it) but moved out of the way, allowing Toni to handle the cash register for now. He knew better than to argue with her.

Toni smiled as the girl approached the counter. "Hey, what can I get for you?" She asked as she tried to keep her cool and not say anything stupid. She couldn't help but notice that the girl had an amazing body. Everything about her appearance seemed flawless. She had what many girls envy- a natural beauty. She was hot without even trying. As the girl spoke, Toni almost wished she had let Sweet Pea take her order now. Distracted by how attractive the girl was, Toni was having a hard time concentrating on the words coming out of her mouth as she ordered her coffee.

"Can I get a vanilla latte with almond milk?" The girl asked.

"Of course," Toni said, hoping it wasn't obvious how flustered she was just from talking to this girl. "That'll be $3.75."

The redhead handed Toni some cash and Toni carefully gave her change back after putting the bills in the drawer, trying hard to focus.

"Thanks," the redhead said with a smile as she dropped the change into the tip jar next to the register.

Damn, her smile was perfect too. Of course it was. Toni grabbed a cup from underneath the counter and the sharpie marker they always kept at the register. Normally at this point, she would ask for the person's name to write on the cup to ensure that everyone got the correct drink. Instead of asking for the girl's name, Toni saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. She may have been too shy to flirt directly with a stranger, but she had another idea. It was the only thing she could think of on such short notice. Without much thought, she wrote the words "cute redhead" on the cup and handed it to Sweet Pea.

"Vanilla almond milk latte," she said in a tone that sounded a bit more demanding than she intended it to.

"Yeah yeah, I heard," he grumbled, clearly a little annoyed with her tone and for taking away his opportunity to talk to the girl.

Toni turned back to her with another smile. "It'll be just a minute," she said.

"It'll be just a minute" Sweet Pea said in his best impersonation of Toni, mocking and teasing her for being so enthralled by this customer. Toni chose to ignore him for now, leaning against the counter next to him. She didn't want to make a bad first impression by making a scene in front of the beautiful girl, but she would definitely scold him for that later.

He finished making the latte and stepped up to the counter holding the cup out in front of him as the girl stood a few feet away, busy looking down at her phone.

"Vanilla latte with almond milk for uhh..." the girl looked at him as he silently read what was written on the cup. He furrowed his brow as he tried to think of what to say. "Um for you.. yeah, this is yours," he said awkwardly as he handed it to the redhead, not wanting to read what Toni had written out loud.

The girl took the cup from him with a confused look on her face and mumbled a polite "thank you" before turning away and walking out of the shop. Toni watched her walk out the door and immediately turned back to Sweet Pea, punching him in the arm, probably a little harder than he deserved.

"You idiot! You could have embarrassed me in front of the hottest girl to ever walk in this coffee shop," Toni said folding her arms across her chest. "You're lucky she didn't hear you mocking me."

"First of all, ow," he said wincing in pain and grabbing his arm, "and second of all, you didn't even ask for her name! Five bucks says she never comes back here after seeing what you wrote on her cup."

Toni narrowed her eyes at him. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should have just asked for her name like she would have for any other customer. She didn't have time to think that one through, but she really hoped the girl would come back. Regardless of her confidence of the girl returning to the shop, five bucks wasn't that much money, and she would never refuse a bet, especially against Sweet Pea.

"I'll take that bet," she said holding her hand out for him to shake. They shook hands on their bet and then proceeded to get back to work.

"Are you gonna let me back on the register now?" Sweet Pea asked, still annoyed. "You know you're better at making the drinks than I am."

As much as he had annoyed her today, she had to admit he was right about her barista skills. She moved out of his way and turned back to the espresso machine.

"All yours," she said with a playful eye roll. "Unless she comes back!"

He chuckled as he prepared to ring up the next customer who had just walked through the door. Despite his often immature behavior, Sweet Pea could be a pretty good wing man sometimes. Toni was grateful for him in situations like this. Despite her (potentially less than) brilliant flirting skills, Toni did wish she had gotten the girl's name. Oh well, she'd get it next time, if there was a next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the comments on the first chapter. I will update again as soon as I can.


	3. Chapter 3

Cheryl took a sip of her latte after starting her car, still in the small parking lot behind the coffee shop. It was perfect, just the right amount of espresso she needed to get through all of her work when she got home. She glanced down at the somewhat messy handwriting toward the bottom of the cup and read what Toni had written. A smile immediately crossed her face. She read it again, just to be sure she wasn't crazy or misreading the words. She wasn't used to being flirted with, if that's even what this was. Maybe the girl was just giving her a friendly compliment.

She pictured the girl behind the counter, with her gorgeous tanned skin and pretty pink hair. She remembered seeing her name tag on her apron. Toni. She said the name out loud. And then she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time- butterflies in the pit of her stomach. She thought about the last time someone had made her feel this way. It was several years ago, and her name was Heather.

Cheryl loved Heather, loved spending time with her, talking to her, and loved the feeling of her soft lips connecting to her own during one of their many sleepovers. They were young, but the feelings were there. They were real. She had kissed guys before, gone on dates with them, and desperately tried to feel something, anything, but it never happened. Nothing ever compared to what she felt with Heather so many years ago.

She remembered how scared she was about her parents finding out about how she felt about Heather. She knew they would never approve. They would kick her out of the house, maybe even disown her. She would never get to inherit the family business. It would change her life forever if her parents found out she only had feelings for girls. When Heather moved away, she was devastated, but she also saw it as a blessing in disguise. With Heather out of the picture, her parents would never know her true feelings.

Her 'head bitch in charge' persona at school made her quite unapproachable to most people, she thought. Perhaps this is why Toni's comment caught her off guard. Her instincts told her to immediately reject anyone who tried to flirt with her. She had been okay with that for a long time, always afraid to get too close to anyone. She had friends of course, but she always kept her walls up in an effort to keep any feelings from developing. She had crushes on other girls before, but they never lasted long considering most of the girls were straight and Cheryl did everything in her power to repress those feelings. And she certainly never told anyone about how she felt.

She had only openly dated guys and part of her wished it had worked out with some of them. Most of them were nice guys, but she felt absolutely nothing romantic for any of them. Because of her previous dating life, she figured everyone assumed she was straight and that's what she wanted. She wanted to continue being the hot, popular, unobtainable girl in school. She didn't want her reputation to be potentially ruined by her secret being revealed. She knew a lot of people would be okay with it and supportive of her, but she also knew there were a lot of homophobic people in Riverdale. It was just too risky for anyone to find out, especially now when she's trying to get her life together and save up for college. She couldn't afford the possibility of being kicked out by her parents.

But it had been a long time since Heather, and she was much older and more mature now. She was about to be a senior in high school. Maybe it was time to start exploring a little more and finding out who she truly is. She still lived under her parents' roof and still worked for them so she would have to be careful, but if this Toni girl was actually trying to flirt with her, maybe she would flirt back and just see what happens. Nothing wrong with a little innocent flirting. It doesn't have to mean anything. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and wipe the silly grin off her face as she backed her car out of the parking lot.

She knew she would be returning to the coffee shop again soon, mainly to see Toni again, but also because that was a damn good latte. She spent the rest of her day at her desk trying to focus on her work and not think too much about the pretty girl behind the counter at the coffee shop.

* * *

The next day started the same as the day before- with a morning jog. She put her headphones in, but the sound of her music was drowned out by her thoughts. She couldn't get Toni out of her head, and she didn't know why. She knew nothing about this girl other than her first name and where she worked, but she couldn't wait to see her again. Even if nothing happened between them, the mere possibility of an interaction with the barista was exciting to Cheryl. She was probably overreacting to the entire situation as she often did. She was known for being dramatic and she couldn't deny that there was some truth to that, but it was nice to have something to look forward to.

After her shower, she put on a pair of dark jeans and a red crop top with a little bit of makeup and her signature red lipstick. She wanted to look hot, but not like she was trying too hard. Even with a somewhat casual look, she knew she looked good and she hoped that Toni would agree. As she opened the front door of the Thornhill mansion to leave, the sound of her mother's voice from behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"Cheryl, where are you going? Your father will be very disappointed if you don't finish your work today." Penelope Blossom stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, eyeing her daughter accusingly.

Cheryl always hoped to get out of the house without her parents noticing, but to her dismay, she wasn't always so lucky. Neither of them ever had anything positive to say about anything. It seemed as if Cheryl was always doing something wrong or disappointing them in some way. Moments like these made her wish she could move out sooner rather than later.

"I'm just going out for coffee, mother. I'll be back soon," Cheryl said closing the door behind her before her mother could respond or question her further.

The drive to the coffee shop was quite short, but it was enough time for Cheryl to second guess herself. Was it weird to show up to the same place two days in a row? Was she making it too obvious that she wanted to see Toni? She wasn't sure. This behavior was so out of character for her. If this flirtatious interaction had occurred at school, or another place where she was surrounded by her peers, she probably would have told Toni to get lost. It was the easiest way to keep her secret hidden. The coffee shop somehow provided a sense of privacy and safety. No one was around to hear their conversations besides the guy working behind the counter with Toni. She was positive she hadn't seen either of them at school, so it was unlikely that they knew any of her friends or the people she interacted with regularly. Cheryl continued to mentally try to justify her actions as she got closer to the coffee shop. She quieted the doubts in her head as she parked her car in the small lot, attributing her worries to her tendency to overreact and overthink. This was innocent. She was going inside, ordering coffee and then leaving. That's it. She repeated this in her head over and over like a mantra as she approached the door to the shop. 

* * *

It had been a normal morning for Toni at work. There weren't too many customers, so she was working in the front alone- running the cash register and making drinks while Sweet Pea was in the back stockroom opening boxes and organizing shelves. She had just finished making a cappuccino for someone when the front door opened again. To her amazement, it was the girl from yesterday. She had a second chance and this time, she was determined to at least get the girl's name. 

She couldn't help but smile at the girl. "Good morning," she said as the redhead approached the counter. "What can I get for you today?"

The girl smiled back, locking eyes with Toni. "Good morning to you as well. Vanilla latte with almond milk, please."

Toni was grateful the girl hadn't mentioned what happened yesterday. She found herself a little embarrassed now that the girl was standing in front of her again. Thank God she was here though. It almost seemed like fate that she had decided to come back. Toni knew now was her chance. 

After putting the girl's money in the register, she grabbed a cup from underneath the counter. "So," she said with a quiet laugh, "I guess I should ask for your name this time." 

The redhead laughed too, and Toni was mesmerized by the sound of it. She was sure it was one of the sweetest sounds she had ever heard. 

"It's Cheryl," the girl said, "Cheryl Blossom."

Toni forgot what she was doing for a moment, keeping her eyes locked with Cheryl's. "Well, Cheryl Blossom, it's really nice to officially meet you."

A blush crept onto Cheryl's cheeks. "It's really nice to meet you too..." she peered around the register to get a glimpse of Toni's name tag as if she hadn't seen it yesterday and thought about her nearly every moment since then, "Toni."

"Toni Topaz," Toni said with a smirk before snapping back into reality and grabbing the marker to write on the cup. 

Again, without much thinking, she began writing on the cup, but just like yesterday, it wasn't Cheryl's name that she was writing. She made the latte while Cheryl waited patiently on the other side of the counter. When she was finished she put a lid on and placed it on the counter in front of her.

"Enjoy," she said as Cheryl grabbed the warm cup. "And text me sometime... if you want," she said before winking flirtatiously at the redhead. 

Cheryl blushed even more, not knowing what to say. "Thanks, Toni," she said before making her way back out the door. As Toni watched Cheryl leave, Sweet Pea emerged from the back room. 

"What are you smiling about?" he asked curiously.

Toni laughed. "You owe me five bucks." 

Cheryl was still smiling when she got back into her car, and her smile grew even bigger when she looked at her cup to see the phone number written at the bottom. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is doing well during these apocalyptic times!  
> I tried to capture the paranoia and fear associated with being in the closet in this chapter. Sorry it took so long for this update. I will do my best to get the next one out soon!

Immediately upon returning home, Cheryl went to her desk and closed the door behind her. She stared at the phone number on the bottom of her coffee cup for a moment, still a bit shocked that that had actually just happened. Toni might actually be into her, and the thought of that had her feeling more giddy than she ever had in response to someone showing interest in her. The whole way home all she could think about is how she felt when their eyes met. Toni held her gaze like she was the most interesting person in the world, like she wanted to know everything about her. Just from their brief interactions, Cheryl could tell there was chemistry between them. It was a feeling she hadn't felt with anyone else since Heather. Obviously, the temptation to text Toni was driving her crazy, but she didn't want to text her so soon after they saw each other. Although she was eager and excited, she didn't want to seem desperate. She would at least wait until tonight. 

She pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and tapped on the button to create a new contact. She typed the number into the box and then paused before typing Toni's name. Her fear of being found out was suddenly back. What if someone saw who she was texting and somehow figured out that she was attracted to her? It was an irrational thought, but Cheryl couldn't help but be paranoid about the possibility of someone finding out. She would need to come up with a nickname for her new crush. She tapped on the box labeled "first name" and simply typed her initials, "TT." Now if her phone was lost, stolen, or hacked, no one would know for certain that she was texting Toni Topaz. She was briefly comforted by that, but quickly thought about how risky this already was. She couldn't be with Toni in a romantic way, at least not publicly. Hiding a relationship of any kind, romantic or otherwise, would be difficult. It would present challenges that normal relationships wouldn't have. Keeping secrets was scary. Cheryl knew this from experience. Anyone with a secret is constantly looking over their shoulder and trying to protect themselves, constantly in a state of paranoia. Cheryl's closeted sexuality was already a secret she had kept for many years. Acting on it would make it an even bigger secret, which in turn would make it more difficult to hide. She had done it before with Heather, but she was young and naive then. Cheryl took a deep breath and opened her laptop before sipping her delicious latte. She needed to focus her attention on something other than Toni for a while. She was having too many conflicting thoughts and emotions about texting her. For now, her work would serve as a good distraction.

Later that evening at the dinner table, Cheryl's mind drifted to Toni again. She would text her tonight, but what would she say? Texting was so much different than talking in person. She usually didn't put much thought into starting a conversation through text, but this felt different. As scary as it seemed, she had to admit, at least to herself, that she was attracted to Toni, and she wanted Toni to like her. Her parents were discussing mundane business matters before she tuned out of the conversation, not listening to anything they were saying.

"Cheryl!" her mother suddenly scolded her. Cheryl was instantly brought out of her inner qualms as her mother seethed at her. "Answer your father when he asks you a question!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Cheryl had been so completely lost on the conversation that she had absolutely no idea what her father had just asked her or even that he had asked a question at all. 

"I asked how your day was," he said simply, clearly not nearly as upset about Cheryl's lack of response as her mother was. 

"Oh, it was fine. Thank you for asking," Cheryl said sweetly, trying her best not to upset either of them further. 

A few moments of silence passed before her father spoke again. "Are you alright Cheryl? You've barely touched any of your food."

Cheryl looked down at her plate. He was right. She had been too distracted to even notice. She quickly conjured up a white lie. 

"Actually, I have a bit of a headache. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll retire to bed early tonight." She waited for her parents' response. Her mother still looked angry, but said nothing as her father simply gave her a nod of approval. 

She hastily stood up from her seat at the table and made her way upstairs to her bedroom, grateful to have some privacy and finally be out of her parents' presence. She changed into her silk pajama set and got into her cozy queen sized bed, pulling the covers over her before grabbing her phone from where it had been charging on the nightstand. 

The giddy feeling she felt earlier was back again as she scrolled through her contacts to the one that read "TT." Now she just needed to decide what to say. Her fingers hovered over the letters on the screen as she silently debated on how to start the conversation. After a couple of moments of careful thought, she decided a simple greeting would be best for the occasion. 

**Cheryl: Hey, it's Cheryl.**

Her heart fluttered as she hit the send button. She couldn't help but stare at the screen, waiting for the three dots to appear, indicating that Toni was typing. It was only a minute or two before the dots popped up, almost as if Toni had been waiting for Cheryl to text her. This thought made her smile. 

**TT: Hey :)**

The dots appeared again immediately.

**TT: sooo i think you're really pretty and you seem really nice. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out sometime?**

Cheryl felt as if her heart was about to jump right out of her chest from beating so fast. 

**Cheryl: you mean like a date?**

She had never gone on a real date with a woman. She and Heather were too young for dating at the time they were together. She had never gone on a date with someone she was actually truly interested in and attracted to, and now the opportunity was laid out right in front of her chest.

**TT: do you want it to be a date?**

Seeing the words appear on her screen was a bittersweet feeling. She did want it to be a date. It made her happy that Toni actually seemed to like her and wanted to go out with her, but on the other hand, she knew she couldn't. She wasn't out yet. She wasn't sure if she could ever be out. She wouldn't feel safe. Just as she was trying to decide how to politely say no, Toni texted her again.

**TT: maybe I'm wrong but I thought I felt some chemistry between us at the coffee shop today**

So she noticed too. There was definitely some sort of spark between them. It was so obvious to her, but Cheryl thought she was the only one who was aware of it. Did other people notice too? Was she unknowingly giving off gay vibes that other people were aware of? She didn't want to think about it. As much as she wanted this to happen with Toni, she knew that it couldn't, and the sooner she ended this, the better.

**Cheryl: I'm sorry Toni, but I don't date.**

It wasn't a lie. She hadn't dated anyone in a couple of years, and when she did, it was never serious. She definitely wasn't interested in dating guys and the thought of dating girls hadn't even crossed her mind. She had fantasized about it before, but the thought of actually dating a woman was just too unrealistic for her to seriously consider.

**TT: well I'm off work tomorrow, but I wanted to go grab coffee anyways. I was thinking we could go together? Doesn't have to be a date, we can just hang out as friends**

Friends. Cheryl could deal with that. There's nothing wrong with having friends, and friends go out together all the time. She had to remind herself of this before chickening out and saying no. This was fine, it would be fine.

**Cheryl: sure, sounds fun**

Toni: cool, meet you there at 8:30 tomorrow?

**Cheryl: okay :)**

**TT: see you then :)**

Cheryl couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Toni was smiling too. The text exchange had gone better than she expected. The thought of asking Cheryl out through a text was terrifying to her. She was worried she would sound like a total creep, or Cheryl wouldn't be interested at all. She read each of their messages again, and one thing stood out to her more than any other message. Cheryl said she didn't date, but she didn't acknowledge what Toni said about the chemistry between them. Maybe she felt it but didn't want to admit it, or maybe she just didn't want to hurt Toni's feelings by saying she didn't feel anything. Toni still didn't know if Cheryl even liked girls in that way. She brushed it off and decided to let it go for now. 

It was a little disappointing that Cheryl didn't want it to be a date, but Toni could respect that. She wasn't going to back out just because Cheryl didn't want this to be romantic. While it wasn't exactly what she hoped for, she was still looking forward to getting to know Cheryl better and perhaps become friends with her. She didn't have any friends on the north side of town, but she definitely wasn't opposed to the idea. It would be nice to make friends with more northsiders. Maybe then she wouldn't feel like such an outcast when she left the south side of town. For now, she just felt grateful that Cheryl hadn't completely ignored her and actually agreed to this "friend date" she had orchestrated. Even if it didn't go well, at least she would have an excuse to get out of the house on her day off. Either way, she was looking forward to it. 


	5. Chapter 5

Toni woke up to find her uncle snoring on the couch, a nearly empty whiskey bottle sat on the floor beside him. She hated finding him like this, but it was much better than being woken up in the middle of the night by his yelling or breaking things. The thin walls of the trailer they lived in made it almost impossible not to hear him when he came in drunk, though she often tried to pretend she was asleep or not there at all, just to avoid him completely. Sometimes, it worked, and sometimes she had to endure his outbursts. Thank God he just quietly passed out this time. She got dressed- fishnets and shorts with a black t-shirt and got ready for her outing with Cheryl as quietly as possible. She grabbed her keys and carefully went out the front door without waking her uncle. 

She arrived at the coffee shop ten minutes early, and was immediately greeted by Sweet Pea from behind the counter. "Hey T, what brings you here on your day off?" he asked. 

"Hey.. um remember the redhead from the other day? Cheryl? We're meeting up here for coffee," Toni said as nonchalantly as possible, hoping to avoid any further questioning from her friend. 

"Seriously?! Holy shit, that's awesome!" he said excitedly. 

"Calm down, it's not a date," Toni replied. 

Sweet Pea looked confused. "But I thought you liked her?"

"Can you just let me pay for my coffee?" Toni asked. She did not want to have this conversation with him now. 

"Okay, okay, sorry," he said as he took Toni's debit card.

"Give me a cappuccino and a vanilla latte with almond milk," Toni said as he punched in the order on the register. 

"Wait, you're buying her coffee? Sounds like a date to me," Sweet Pea said, still confused. 

Toni decided to ignore him this time, instead moving towards the end of the counter to wait on their drinks to be made. Maybe buying Cheryl's drink without asking first was a bad idea, but it seemed like the nice thing to do considering she had asked her to hang out in the first place. She checked her phone just as a text from Cheryl appeared on the screen. 

**Cheryl: Pulling in now**

**Toni: Ok, I'm inside.**

* * *

They had agreed this was not a date, but Cheryl was more nervous for this meetup than any date she had ever gone on. She walked into the coffee shop to find Toni leaning against the counter. Cheryl knew Toni was hot, but it was different seeing her when she wasn't wearing an apron over her clothes. Cheryl tried to maintain eye contact with her, just to keep her eyes from roaming up and down Toni's body. Toni looked up from her phone and smiled when she saw Cheryl walk in, and Cheryl couldn't help but smile back. 

"Hey, I already ordered your drink.. I hope that's okay. Vanilla latte with almond milk, right?" Toni asked as the barista set both coffees on the counter. 

Cheryl could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. "You remembered my order?" 

"Yeah, sorry that probably makes me seem like a creep," Toni said as she began making her way to a table in the corner of the coffee shop as Cheryl followed. 

"No, that's actually very thoughtful of you," Cheryl replied. "Can I at least pay you back for it?"

"Nah, don't worry about it, my treat" Toni said as they sat down at the small table next to the bookshelves. 

"Thank you," Cheryl smiled. "How very kind of you."

She couldn't ignore how much this felt like a date. It was just the two of them and Toni bought her coffee. To anyone who didn't know any better, this would appear to be a date, and that was both scary and a little bit exciting. 

"It's no problem," Toni said before taking a sip of her cappuccino. "Besides, I get an employee discount. 

Cheryl smiled, silently praying this whole thing wouldn't become awkward. "Do you work here all the time or only during the summer? I don't recall seeing you here before this week."

"I started working here right before summer started, but I plan on working as much as I can when school starts back too," Toni said. "What about you? Do you work?"

Cheryl explained how she works for her parents during the summer and is involved in the family business, how she went to Riverdale High, and how boring her summer had been so far. As she spoke, Toni got the sense that she and Cheryl were from completely different worlds. From the sound of it, she came from a wealthy family. Toni came from nothing. She wasn't ashamed of where she came from- it was part of who she was, but she was suddenly a little nervous to talk about it when Cheryl asked. 

"Do you go to Riverdale High?"

Toni took another sip of her coffee before responding. "No, I live on the south side, so I go to Southside High."

"Oh" was all Cheryl said before sipping her coffee as well. Toni couldn't tell if the expression on her face was one of shock, disappointment, or something else altogether, but she decided it was a good time to change the subject. 

"By the way, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable by hitting on you... Like I said before, I just think you're really pretty," Toni said.

Cheryl immediately smiled. "Don't apologize, I'm flattered. And you're really pretty too."

Toni was a little taken aback by the compliment, but figured Cheryl was just being polite. "I have to ask though, why did you agree to hang out with me?" Toni asked. 

"I just.. want to make new friends," Cheryl said. It was mostly true, Cheryl did want to make new friends. Her summer was boring and her usual friends were often busy with their own lives. But what really made her want to hang out with Toni was how ridiculously attractive Cheryl thought she was. She wouldn't admit that now, though. 

"Cool," Toni replied. "I like making new friends too."

The rest of their conversation flowed quite smoothly, more smoothly than most first dates Toni had been on. Cheryl was easy to talk to, and seemed genuinely interested in what Toni had to say. They chatted about their other friends, their favorite coffees, and their favorite hobbies. Cheryl talked about how she likes to sketch in her free time, and Toni talked about her love of photography. It was easy, Toni thought. Even though the situation had the potential for becoming awkward, it didn't. 

Over an hour later, their cups were empty and Cheryl pulled her phone from her pocket, checking the time. 

"I should probably get going," she said turning her attention away from her phone and back to Toni. "It's been really nice talking with you, and thank you again for the coffee."

Both girls stood up from their chairs at the same time. "Yeah, of course, I'll walk out with you," Toni said. 

She waved goodbye to Sweet Pea as she followed Cheryl out the door of the little shop. "Maybe we can do this again sometime? If you're up for it," Toni said as they walked. 

Cheryl's face seemed to light up a bit. "yes, this was nice," Cheryl responded as she made her way to the driver's side door of her fancy red convertible. 

"Wow, that's your car?" Toni blurted out in disbelief. 

"Mmhmm," Cheryl smirked, obviously amused by Toni's reaction. 

"Okay, you have to give me a ride sometime," Toni said, still admiring the car.

Cheryl laughed. "I don't let just anyone ride in my car.. you'll have to prove you're worthy enough," she said as she leaned against the car.

Toni crossed her arms, but laughed. "Fine, I can do that, you'll see."

Cheryl bit her lip as she got into her car. Just like their conversation, flirting was easy too. 

"Bye, Toni.. text me later," Cheryl said, biting her lip again, trying to hide the inevitable grin that spread on her face every time their conversation got flirty. 

"Later, Cheryl. I'll text you," Toni said as she made her way across the small lot to her car. 

* * *

Spending the morning with Cheryl left Toni in a great mood. She didn't even mind getting up early on her day off. That was all ruined the moment she stepped foot back into her uncle's trailer. 

"Where the fuck have you been?" he mumbled groggily from the couch. It was hard to tell whether he was just hungover or still a little drunk from the night before. 

Toni tried to be as polite as possible, keeping her voice down in an effort to try not to escalate the situation. "I just went out for coffee with a friend," she said. 

He sat up on the couch with a groan. "Why not do something useful for a change? Make breakfast maybe," he said.

It was better to comply rather than argue. Toni knew from past experience. "Sure, pancakes sound good?" 

"Yep," he responded as he walked through the trailer to his bedroom. 

Toni heard his shower start up as she grabbed the ingredients for the pancakes. Every time they had a confrontation or argument, Toni's eagerness to move out grew a little more. She couldn't wait until she had somewhere else to go, somewhere else to call 'home.' 

They ate their breakfast at the tiny dining table in the kitchen in silence, and Toni was grateful for it. She didn't have much to say to him, and apparently he didn't have much to say either. If only it could be this way all the time. 

After cleaning up the mess from breakfast, Toni went into her small bedroom and slumped down to lay on her twin sized bed. She checked her phone and found that she had a new text message. 

**Sweet Pea: movie night tomorrow???**

Seeing the words on the screen instantly brought her mood back up. Going to the drive-in with Sweet Pea and their other friends was always fun, and a great excuse to get out of the house. 

**Toni: hell yeah!**

She responded instantly before typing out another message. 

**Toni: who's going?**

His reply came shortly afterwards. 

**Sweet Pea: just me and u. everyones busy**

She sent back a thumbs up emoji before scrolling through her contacts to find Cheryl's name and sending another message.

**Toni: Hey, thanks again for hanging with me this morning.. I had fun. I know it's soon, but are you free tomorrow??**

She tapped the send button again and waited for a reply. 

After spending time with her this morning, Toni liked Cheryl even more than before. She couldn't help it. They got along so well and enjoyed each other's company. It would be impossible to not have a crush on her, she thought. She just hoped it wouldn't get in the way of a potential friendship. She was aware how dangerous it was to crush on straight girls, but she was finding it really difficult to resist inviting the redhead to hang out again. As she waited for her reply, she only hoped that Cheryl was looking forward to seeing her again too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and sorry it's taking so long for updates. Please let me know if you're enjoying it!


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